French authorities to begin intercepting migrant vessels in English Channel after British demands
France has agreed to begin intercepting migrant vessels in the English Channel, following an extended period of insistence from the United Kingdom.
The change in policy comes after the Prime Minister wrote to the French leader urging him to support the initiative and stating there currently "have no effective deterrent" in the maritime passage.
French maritime police will be allowed to intercept the migrant vessels at sea, but exclusively prior to they've picked up their migrants, according to authoritative confirmation.
French police have infrequently acted to stop the heavily loaded boats departing from the coastline because it is viewed as too great a danger to both officers and civilians.
"It is crucial that we deploy these tactics this month... We have zero effective prevention in the Channel waters."
Now, a French maritime police spokesperson says officers will begin intervening at sea, with the aim of protecting human life.
Significantly, the spokesperson excluded the use of nets to intercept boats, which had previously been reported as a potential technique to disable the engines of the vessels.
This determination to intervene at all is a significant advancement, coming after a short-lived change towards a more aggressive approach this summer, which ceased when the former government official departed from government.
This was demonstrated in July, preceding a meeting between the Prime Minister and French president, when French police were observed wading into the sea to damage the hulls of a boat.
Currently French officials will once more be allowed to intercept boats prior to they collect asylum-seeking passengers from the coastal areas of northern France, however it's not clear how the vessels will be prevented.
Powerful gusts are presently postponing the commencement of intervention operations and the people-smuggling networks will be seeking ways to adapt to evade detection, as they have frequently done in the past.
The Home Office and Downing Street have been contacted for response.
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